06/05/2025
A Letter Written to Congress
According to reports FACT SHEET: Two Years In, the Inflation Reduction Act is Lowering Costs for Millions of Americans, Tackling the Climate Crisis, and Creating Jobs and a report by the Department of Treasury The Inflation Reduction Act: A Place-Based Analysis, Updates from Q3 and Q4 2023 and a report titled The Inflation Reduction Act Still Reduces the Deficit explain how the IRA is decreasing the deficit.
From Wikipedia Inflation Reduction Act it explains the pros and cons of the IRA. The IRA was never meant to be a short term fix but a long term investment. A marathon not a sprint.
In reports written about the difference between the amounts of energy produced by corn vs. solar show that an acre of solar produces more energy than corn can produce.
In reports https://www.pvfarm.io/blog/how-solar-power-benefits-local-communities-economically-job-creation-tax- revenue-and-infrastructure-growth and Acre Land: Corn-Grown Ethanol vs Solar Panels and New study compares growing corn for energy to solar production. It’s no contest. and Should Farmers Plant Solar Panels or Corn? It shows that we can generate considerable more energy with solar than with corn.
These studies and reports show that an acre of solar panels create considerably more energy than an acre of corn can. Some studies say that solar can produce between 70 to 100 time more energy than corn can produce when comparing energy input compared to energy output. It creates less pollution, less erosion, promotes wildlife like pollinators, can be dual purposed to include livestock and crops, creates jobs, and stabilizes farmers finances, reduces groundwater contamination from fertilizers and pesticides, lets nature fertilize the ground organically building top soil, and gives the land a much needed rest.
Farmer can make between $55 and $164 per acre of corn but at the same time that same farmer can make between $250 and $2000 per acre leasing land to solar developers for solar. Leasing land frees up the farmers time to have a second job, increasing their yearly income, increasing the amount of income tax they pay every year, making it possible to support their families and communities, reducing farm subsidy programs, decreasing the burden on tax payers, decreasing our national debt, and increasing the value of the GDP. Many times farmers are allowed to dual purpose the leased land to graze livestock increasing their annual income and annual income tax they pay.
Solar, and other renewable energies, create good paying jobs that create income which create income, sales and other taxes for state and federal governments. Creating jobs decreases the need for assistance programs like Medicaid and SNAP. It saves homeowners and businesses money that helps to pay for the cost of living and helps to lower operating costs for businesses which in return can help to keep the costs of products affordable.
The solar industry supports other industries like the mining industry, shipping industry, processing industry, manufacturing industry, supply industry, installation industry, energy storage system like batteries industry, excavation industry, finance industry, R&D industry, O&M industry, steel, aluminum, copper industries, electronic component industry, insurance industry just to name a few. Solar pushes off the need to upgrade the electric grid by years.
Instead of making cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, why don't we keep supporting an industry that creates jobs, decreases the need for assistance programs, and makes the government money in income, sales and other taxes and saves the government money by creating jobs and getting people off of assistance programs?
Just about every day I am sizing, designing, quoting and calculating "Returns on Investment" for customers that are considering investing in solar. When calculating returns on investment you have to compare your money outflows to your money inflows. All I ever hear is how much "the investment tax credit" (ITC) for renewable energy is costing the U.S. government but they never tell us about all the money the government is making off the renewable energy industry, and supporting industries, on income taxes and other taxes.
Trump's bill is going to destroy renewable energy, take away health care for people that can't afford health care, make kids go hungry, raise our country's debt. We need to support industries that are creating jobs, reducing the need for assistance programs like Medicaid and SNAP, stabilizing farmers finances, increase farmers income, reducing the need for farmers assistance programs, increasing income which in return increases the amount of income tax someone pays, stabilizes the cost of living, imports foreign companies that built factories on American soil and create American jobs, improves the economy, raises the GDP value, makes the fossil fuel companies be competitive with their prices, decreases our need for foreign oil, works toward energy independence, reduces air and ground water pollution, and makes us less dependent on tariffs.
With renewable energy like solar, wind, hydroelectric and energy storage systems we can turn unusable land into usable land again. We can install solar and wind paired with batteries on brown fields. We can create jobs in poverty areas. We can bring foreign companies into the United States and create American jobs. We can support other American industries.
I have read articles written by financial analysts and economists that claim that for every $1 the U.S. government gives out in tax credits for renewable energy the government will receive $5 to $7 in return on money saved on the need for assistance programs and money made on taxes. So the ITC for solar is making and saving the government money, not costing the government money.
Even the oil and coal companies are investing in renewable energy because it makes financial and environmental sense.
AI Overview
Several oil companies are investing in renewable energy to transition towards a lower-carbon future
Companies with significant investments in renewable energy include:
BP (NYSE:BP): They have significantly invested in renewables, including bioenergy, EV charging, and carbon capture. They aim to build 50 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030.
TotalEnergies (NYSE:TTE): They are expanding their renewable energy portfolio with a target of 100 GW capacity by 2030, aiming for a significant portion of their sales to come from renewables and electricity by 2050.
Shell: Investing billions in clean energy sources such as solar, wind, and hydrogen technology. They are also developing EV charging stations and delivering sustainable aviation fuel.
Enbridge (NYSE:ENB): Gradually transitioning their business towards lower-carbon energy sources, including renewables, while maintaining a focus on their core energy infrastructure businesses.
Repsol: Exploring climate-friendly methods for hydrogen production and synthetic fuels as part of their strategy to move towards a low-emissions future.
Equinor: Working on solar, gas, wind, and oil energy projects while seeking low-carbon solutions, with a goal of cutting emissions in Norway towards near zero by 2050.
Other oil companies investing in renewable energy or related technologies include:
Chevron: Investing in carbon capture and offset projects.
ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM): Focusing on lower-carbon energy businesses like carbon capture and storage (CCS), hydrogen, and renewable fuels.
Petronas: Introduced a new clean energy company, Gentari, focused on generating clean energy, primarily solar.
Eni: Plans to invest further in renewable technologies, including developing onshore and offshore wind capacity.
AI Overview
Several coal companies are investing in renewable energy sources as part of a broader shift towards cleaner energy. Some examples include:
Peabody Energy: This leading U.S. coal producer is collaborating with RWE to repurpose former coal mining sites into clean energy hubs with solar and battery storage capacity.
Berkshire Hathaway Energy: They have invested significantly in wind, solar, and geothermal energy projects, and their stated goal is to cease coal generation by 2049.
Coal India: As the world's largest coal company, they are installing solar panels at their facilities to lower utility bills and plan to invest billions in renewable energy capacity, primarily solar and wind power, to support green hydrogen and ammonia production. They are also investing in new coal-fired power plants, demonstrating a dual approach to energy sources.
AM Green (in partnership with Coal India): This company produces green hydrogen and ammonia and is partnering with Coal India to secure renewable energy supply for its facilities.
Instead of supporting Trump why don't you do what you were elected to do, support the people of Iowa and the United States? Please do what is the best for the people of Iowa and the United States of America. Please fight to create jobs, decrease the need for assistance programs, clean up our environment, and stabilize the cost of living,
By the way, I agree with you about "all the above approaches for energy" but that needs to include the "Investment Tax Credit" and the “Production Tax Credit” for solar, wind and batteries and other energy storage systems. It helps to keep prices competitive and avoids any one source of energy from becoming greedy.
Renewable energy sources will never come to an end but fossil fuels will some day. The sun has been shinning and the wind has been blowing since the beginning of this planet. Fossil fuels have not been around since the beginning and will not last until the end!
Thank you for your time and I would like to meet in person to discuss this more.
Doug Brimeyer
